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Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Golan Druze pilgrims cross demarcation line
2009-09-24
Hundreds of Druze residents of the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights headed to Syria on a pilgrimage on Thursday, crossing the demarcation line with the help of the international Red Cross. In a rare move, 43 women were to join the almost 500 men, all religious elders, who planned to spend several days attending the annual event, the International Committee of the Red Cross said.

By mid-morning, about half the men had crossed the demarcation line at Quneitra, said ICRC spokeswoman Nadia Dibsy. The Quneitra crossing opens infrequently, notably for the annual pilgrimage and for weddings between Druze from opposite sides of the armistice line.

More than 18,000 Syrians, mostly Druze, are left from the Golan's original population of 150,000. The vast majority of the Druze in the Golan have refused to take Israeli citizenship. Followers of a breakaway sect of Islam concentrated in Israel, Syria, and Lebanon, the Druze are not considered Muslims by most of the Islamic world.
Posted by:ryuge

#1  From Wiki:
The Druze faith began as a movement in Ismailism that was mainly influenced by Greek philosophy and gnosticism and opposed certain religious and philosophical ideologies that were present during that epoch.

The faith was founded by Hamza ibn ‘Alî ibn Ahmad, a Persian Ismaili mystic and scholar. He came to Egypt in 1014 and assembled a group of scholars and leaders from across the Islamic world to form a new Unitarian movement. The order's meetings were held in the Raydan Mosque, near the Al-Hakim Mosque.[19]...Al-Hakim became a central figure in the Druze faith even though his own religious position was disputed among scholars. John Esposito states that al-Hakim believed that "he was not only the divinely appointed religio-political leader but also the cosmic intellect linking God with creation."[21], while others like Nissim Dana and Mordechai Nisan state that he is perceived as the manifestation and the reincarnation of God or presumably the image of God...Al-Hakim disappeared one night while out on his evening ride - presumably assassinated, perhaps at the behest of his formidable elder sister Sitt al-Mulk. The Druze believe he went into Occultation with Hamza ibn Ali and three other prominent preachers, leaving the care of the "Unitarian missionary movement" to a new leader, Bahâ'u d-Dîn.


Never was concerned much about the Druze but this sounds a lot like Dinnerjacket's Hidden Imam beliefs.
Posted by: Lumpy Elmoluck5091   2009-09-24 11:01  

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